Mind Me, Milady

Jane Larson is an attorney on the Upper East Side of New York City, and the Gentleman Rapist has chosen her to receive his calls announcing each conquest. He also reminds her in chilling terms that he will one day twist his wire around her throat and bend her to his will.

Jane has professional and personal problems of her own, but she is forced to try to catch this monster when he stalks her newest client. Susan is a sweet young woman who cannot remember large time periods of her past and who has dreams about a prior life in which she was raped. Soon, the Gentleman escalates to murder, and Jane wonders if he was involved in Susan’s forgotten past, or if Susan is simply a means to get to Jane. Either way, Jane is caught in the deadly game of stopping the Gentleman before another woman feels the wire at her throat and hears his sinister whisper to Mind Me, Milady.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Jane Larson has returned with an array of new clients in Mind Me, Milady, by Anne Rothman-Hicks and Ken Hicks. In this mystery, a young woman is targeted for memories of a past life while Jane is also fighting back against a serial rapist who soon ups his crime spree to include murder. If Jane can figure out how it's all related, then maybe she'll have a chance at stopping the monster who keeps her informed of his every misdeed. 

Jane Larson was first introduced to me in Weave a Murderous Web and her character is just as persistent and determined as before. Maybe even more so now that she's cleaning up her mother's client list. What connected me most to Jane was her emotional realization that she was both proud of her mother and more inclined to be like her mother in terms of being a lawyer. As the book progressed, so did Jane's emotional evolution. She learns that she likes helping people who need it rather than helping businesses or people who are assigned to her by her boss. And in this story, there are lots of people who need help. Jane's emotional strength and intelligence work in her favor as she tries to help the young and inexperienced Susan. Though Jane can be a little harsh, she has her client's best interests in mind. Couple that with her other likable personality traits and Jane becomes a character that can be respected. 

The storyline of this novel begins with Jane finishing her mother's cases after her death. While doing so, Jane becomes entwined in several plot lines that do get a bit confusing at times. There is a wide cast of characters that frequently come and go, making them a bit hard to remember. The main story involves Susan and the inheritance of her Aunt's estate and a serial rapist who keeps contacting Jane after every incident. Jane feels the two are related somehow but doesn't know exactly. The only thing a bit bothersome about the book was it's incredibly heavy focus on detail. I usually like having all the details but I felt bogged down by the systematic info dumps that didn't seem to contribute to the plot of the book. I feel like that kept me from seeing this book as un-put-down-able. The main reason I think this bothered me so much was because when the criminal was revealed at the end, I didn't remember him being a part of the book. That disappointed me the most. 

Though I would recommend this book to lovers of the mystery genre and to those who have read the previous books about Jane Larson, I think I'd accompany the recommendation with a warning that it moves slowly because of the heavy explanations. I'd also include that the Kindle version (at least the one I received) did have a few errors in it that were a bit distracting, like Jane being called Kate, just to point out one example. Overall, I did feel the connection with Jane initially established in the previous novel was built upon and that the storyline was intriguing, while just confusing enough to not be predictable.

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Read the review of Weave a Murderous Web